Posts tagged “Nomad Adventure Tours”

BY: CHEMONE CARPENTER | 2012-11-19

The very first time I ever came to the realization that I was going to be skydiving was literally when I was in the activity centre in Swakopmund, Namibia standing in the queue to pay for it … Yup… that was it, I’m doing this!

The next morning a group of us were collected in a small van and we headed off into the desert. There were quite a few of us and upon arrival at the hanger in the middle of nowhere in the Namibian Desert, we were greeted by another approximately 60 people all waiting for their chance to brave gravity and throw themselves out of a perfectly good aeroplane! Oh dear… What had I been thinking!

Everyone there was so supportive and happy and seemed to have no cares in the world at all, they had a small radio playing and it was very festive with everyone hiding their fears on the inside. They suited up, climbed into the plane, soared off into the sky and then one by one they jumped and landed… simple!

My turn next! The harness fitted snugly between my legs and under my arms, it was very tight and rightly so! They wormed me into the suit as I had to be as secure as possible to remain attached to them when we jumped out of the aeroplane. Harnessed up, all set and scared to death, off we went! My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing, yet other than that I felt calm. We climbed into our little plane feeling like sardines as we launched into the air.

Looking back, and at the photos above, it really does look like I am over the moon to be travelling at snail speed in the smallest plane known to man, climbing to heights no one could ever fathom wanting to throw yourself out of?

Before I tell you what it is actually like to throw yourself out of the plane, I have to tell you that I did it again! Yes, I did it again… It is honestly the most amazing and truly amazing adrenalin rush you could ever dream of! My new goal is now, one jump a year!

I’ll try to get together the correct words for this phenomenal experience:

They slide you slowly to the edge of the plane, kick your legs out so that you are literally just hanging onto the front of your jump buddy on the outside of the plane. You look down and look around not really able to comprehend what you are about to do. He starts rocking you, taps your shoulder and gives you a thumbs up. 3…. 2… 1.. and off you go!!

You drop at an incredible rate with the wind blowing past you so quickly that through all the screaming and all the magical and expressive words you can possibly use in your 36 seconds of freefall, you are left with a very dry mouth, a heartbeat that feels like it is now on the outside of your chest and a smile that no one could ever take away from you! You did it! The sky is no more the limit! Conquered!

After my jump, I found this on the wall in Swakopmund Jump Club which is the best description of the life changing experience of throwing yourself out of an aeroplane!

You must jump to know, no words can describe the incredible rush when the wind invides you to play. You are one of the few. For a moment you doubt, but the doubt is short lived, as gravity pulls you from the safety of the plane you understand, this is freedom! No turning back now, but who would want to?? The dream of human flight. You know what it means to SKYDIVE!

Swakopmund is the adventure capital of Namibia and there are so many phenomenal activities to do here! You can visit Swakopmund on a number of our tours and experience all of these activities yourself! Here are a few of your options:

We pass the town of Alice, seeing the University of Fort Hare where Nelson Mandela and other well-known politicians studied. We then made our way on to Grahamstown, well known for it’s annual Arts Festival in July, but this time we just stopped for groceries for the next few days.

Nomad truck in Grahamstown

Time flies so quickly and my last stop on this tour is the Addo Elephant National Park. Heading to the park we see Private Reserves along the highway and spot giraffes sitting on the ground (as there was clearly no threat to them). We wait for a train to cross in front of us before we enter the park. The keys for our chalets are collected and we make our way with Ella to our accommodation. We were handed the keys and I had chalet 41, luggage off-loaded and I made my way to my own chalet. WOW!! I just smiled. It was just so beautiful. The double bed looked out onto a balcony overlooking the other chalets and the parks forests ahead.

My room in the park at Addo Elephant Park

The view from my balcony at Addo Elephant Park

After I took in the comforts of my room I quickly freshened up as we were to meet at the camping site to have lunch. En route to lunch, I stopped over at the bird hide looking for interesting birds; walked over to the waterhole when a Kudu made its way down to the hole and I discovered that there was even an underground hide. It was a lovely stroll to the camping site where Rimson was setting the lunch table. Sven asked me if I would like to see a snake and I said yes! Yes!! I took my camera as we headed behind the truck…and there was the snake …a rubber snake! There were independent travellers from South Africa and being regulars to Addo, they were aware of the Vervet monkeys that roamed the area in search of the food. Apparently they stay away when they see the snakes ‘strategically’ placed around the couple’s cool kitchen camp setup.

Having lunch in the camp site at Addo Elephant Park

Preparing the lunch at Addo National Park

Having fun in the kitchen at Addo Elephant National Park

Having a short briefing about our time in Addo

Addo National Park is in the malaria-free Eastern Cape province of South Africa which is great for travellers who are pregnant or travelling with children. There are elephants, lions, black rhinos, buffalos, leopards, zebra, and a variety of antelope and bird species in Addo. I was very excited for my game drive. After lunch, we collected our water bottles and jackets (as it started getting chilly). All eagerly waiting with our camera’s and binoculars, we had to be back in camp as the gates closed at 18h30.

Kudu browsing in the veld in Addo National Park

A zebra and her foal run alongside the truck in Addo

In distance we could see a herd of about 50 elephants crossing the road and heading to a waterhole. Johannes slowly made his way and parked so that we could all get a view of the herd and admire these graceful creatures. Elephants are my favourite animals so I was over the moon to see so many of them drinking water and watching the mothers look after the little ones. The interaction of the herd was fascinating from bulls playing with each other to the little ones watching their mom’s every move and being camera shy. Catching a glimpse or a snap of them was so difficult as they were almost always hidden behind their Mom.

A happy little Addo elephant family!

The other end of the elephants

It starting drizzling as we made our way to the other waterholes where we saw more elephants and more…we must have seen at least 150 elephants so far. The park was originally established to protect the remaining African elephants in Addo and it is doing a good job by conserving these majestic mammals.

More cute baby elephants!

A big thirsty elephant, imagine how much this one drinks in a day!

We make our way to the gates to find Rimson to see if he has managed to fight off the monkeys near the kitchen camp, everything looks well protected from their cheeky little hands. Dinner is ready and is smelling great! We all sat under the canvas awning, drawn from the side of the Nomad truck and talked about the game drive. It was a beautiful calm night and sadly, my last dinner with the group. I was truly going to miss the African road. It is something so special that every South African or lover of the wild should experience.

The last supper, with my new friends and family on the last night of my tour

An early morning as we get ready for our game drive at 6am. We saw zebra with their young, black backed jackals, kudu, ostriches, a buffalo, Red Hartebeest, warthogs, Leopard Tortoises and a scrub hare. No luck with lions or leopards today but hey, I got to see my elephants.

Up close and personal with my favourite animal, the African Elephant

We stopped for breakfast at Jack’s picnic site to fill our stomachs. We were now making our way to the exit of the park driving to the Southern Gate to reach the N2. Goodbye Addo see you again, soon I hope!

I reached Nomad’s post tour accommodation, the Eltham Lodge in Port Elizabeth at about 12h00. A well located guest house about 5 minutes away from the airport and walking distance to the beachfront.

Port Elizabeth is known as the friendly city and it is where I had to say goodbye to my family as they headed to Tsitsikamma National Park to end their tour in Cape Town. I truly wished I was going to see more of my own beautiful country.

My tour family with truck Ella and guides Johannes, Rimson and Sven

I met great people, had good fun, learnt more than I could have imagined and can’t wait for my next Nomad Adventure Tour…. see you on the road fellow nomads!

Day three of the tour was a long driving day as we made our way to Lesotho. We crossed from the KwaZulu Natal Province to the Free State Province in South Africa. We drove through one of South Africa’s untouched and I think most beautiful national parks – the Golden Gate National Park – it’s name came about from the sunsets and sunrises in the area, when the sun shone on the rocks it reflected a golden colour.

Golden Gate National Park

Zebras hanging out at the Golden Gate National Park

Stunning mountain cliff formations and the various layers of the rock could be seen as the colours changed from layer to layer. There is a pass in the park where we reached the height of 2041m. It was a quick drive through the park before lunch was served, we still had to get through the border. Rimson, our guide, found a comfortable grassy space and we all got out and started helping with the lunch preparations. The camping chairs were stored underneath the truck and the Nomad family helped with setting them out and taking the table out – which is stored in the back of the truck where we clean, wash and cut the fruits and vegetables. It is actually quite amazing how much Ella, the truck, could hold and store within her.

Getting involved and preparing lunch for the hungry travelers

Sitting down to a delicious lunch

A group photo of the happy Nomad Family

The border crossing process lasted about 45minutes. On the Lesotho side there was a man and this huge book where he wrote all of the foreign nationalities details from their full name, passport number, date of birth, expiry and necessary information. On the South African side a simple scan of the passport was efficient with high tech (relative to Lesotho only) scanners. One of the travellers on tour had quite a long name, Gerarda Williamena Maria Cloudmans so the gentleman was in a troubled spot as he tried to fit her entire name into a small block and still needed to fill in her other information – this was quite amusing for us. For South African travellers, there was just a simple stamp and I moved on, back to the truck. Benefits of having a South African passport – moving faster in queues when travelling in Africa.

Dumelo – greetings in Basotho. The Kingdom of Lesotho, land of Basotho culture, a landlocked country in the centre of South Africa. I found the people to be very caring, friendly and proud of their nation. When you see photos of Lesotho, a common picture are the men wearing colourful woollen blankets and grass hats in the fields. Before entering Malealea we stopped for a photo stop on the rim of the valley which was called Gates of Paradise (2001m high). It is the gateway to the Malealea valley which is in the remote part of western Lesotho.

On the rim of the Malealea Valley

On arrival at the Malealea lodge, we were informed that there was a generator for electricity from 5pm to 10pm so torches or headlamps are a must to bring along to find your way through the night. Our cook headed straight into the kitchen to prepare dinner. After dinner, we played Uno and headed to our rooms for an early start of more adventure.

Malealea Lodge in the heart of Lesotho

Basotho woman wearing a traditional blanket... it gets cold in the mountains!

Today Ella rested again. We could choose from a selection of hikes according to our fitness and a group of us headed to the Botsoela Waterfall Hike. This is about a four hour hike down into the base of the valley along a river bed. It was raining for a few days so the rocks were wet and slippery so I slid around in the mud quite a lot which was all part of the adventure. A hat, raincoat, sunscreen, water and snacks again were important on this route. Depending on the number of hours hiked the fee is paid to the local Basotho guide. Pony trekking is another activity that is well known and can be done in the valley.

One of the views from our Lesotho hike

Basotho huts against the mountain

Luckily, the weather held up for us but as we headed up the valley it starting drizzling. After lunch a visit to the Malealea village was organised. Three Basotho’s took us into their village and showed us their local store, shops, craft centre, school and museum which was housed in a traditional Basotho hut.

A more traditional Basotho hut

One of the younger members of the Malealea Basotho clan

Heading back to the lodge, in the games centre, the Malealea City Choir (MCC) sang a few songs and then a local music band called Sotho Sounds entertained us, using their home constructed instruments. It was a great way to interact with the locals by dancing to the rythyms of the Malealea. Great fun was had by all as we joined in with dancing to the African beats.

The wonderful local Sotho Sounds Band!

I awoke to the sounds of peacocks calling each other so it was a great African wake up call. At breakfast, the sun rose above the valley and the two male peacocks were actually doing a face-off against each other showing off to the female who was not interested as she was nowhere to be seen. Typical men haha!

This Lesotho peacock had everything going for him, except a peahen!

After our 6am breakfast, we drove out of the valley passing Basotho children going to school waving and shouting hello to us. This day was another long distance driving day as we needed to make our way to Hogsback. Passing van Rooyens border post, the town of Wepener and road works you could expect to have delays of up to 30 minutes. We passed through Aliwal North, stopped at Queenstown for a break and on to the town of KathKath where we took a gravel road – like our guide said – Ella was going for an African massage – as the truck usually experiences big bumps on the gravel roads.

Basotho kids playing in the tractor tyres

As we proceeded, we could see mist hovering over the hills in front of us. As we popped over the top of the hill, we could see a valley filled with mist and trees – it was a forest of the unknown ahead – a tranquil chill hung in the air. We entered deeper into the magical forest to our lodge. I can see where Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings author, found his inspiration. We continued to meander through the green lush forests, eventually reaching the quaint town of Hogsback. A mysterious town with a restaurant called ‘Enchanting Eatery’; hair studio called ‘Hair on the Hogs’; a hostel called ‘Away with the fairies’; chalets called ‘Never Daunted’ and a whole lot more! Well, at least the place where we were staying sounded a little more realistic, Kings Lodge, it definitely lived up to its name! A warm and extra comfortable bed, what more could I ask for more!

The magical mist over Hogsback

At Kings lodge, there is a fireplace in the reading room combined with a pool table and an outside deck to enjoy the sunshine. Some of us played card games and others became amateur to intermediate pool players. Dinner was served inside and again, Rimson’s food was delicious! After dinner, we were briefed on the activities we could do the following day.

My warm and comfortable room at Kings Lodge

After breakfast, we walked through the town, only realising then that the town of Hogsback sleeps on a Tuesday as it is their day of break from being open throughout the weekend. Reaching Hogsback Arboretum we strolled through the Garden of Trees from all over the world including 5 Californian Redwoods over 100 years old. It was a gentle walk to the beautiful 39 Steps Waterfall.

Giant Californian Red Woods in Hogsback

39 Steps Waterfall in Hogsback

Hogsback is nestled on the slopes of the Amatola Mountains with centuries old forests around you – magical forests making it a place I will return to very soon.

Next, we move further into the Eastern Cape, stay tuned for my next update!

Our in-house designer at Nomad African Trust, Shannon Fletcher, has put together packs of super cute Christmas Cards! Cards don’t come cheaper these days than R20 for a pack of 4 cards. All of the proceeds of the cards will go directly to the Helderberg Animal Welfare Society, start the spirit of Christmas giving by buying some of these cards from us. We have boxes of them available at the Greenmarket Square office, please support this initiative, the animals will definitely appreciate it.

Cute Christmas Cards, buy now to support the Helderberg Animal Welfare Society

Cute Christmas Cards, buy now to support the Helderberg Animal Welfare Society

Cute Christmas Cards, buy now to support the Helderberg Animal Welfare Society

Cute Christmas Cards, buy now to support the Helderberg Animal Welfare Society